China has prohibited employees of central government organisations from using iPhones or other foreign-branded cellphones while on the job according to a Wednesday Wall Street Journal report.
In recent weeks, staff members received instructions from their supervisors in meetings or chat rooms at work, according to the article, though it wasn’t immediately clear how broad the directives were.
A new line of iPhones is set to be released, and reports claim that as Sino-U.S. relations rise, the prohibition might raise concerns among foreign businesses doing business in China.
China has been attempting to lessen its reliance on foreign technologies for more than ten years. To this end, it has encouraged domestic semiconductor chip production and asked state-affiliated businesses like banks to switch to local software.
Beijing intensified this push in 2020 when its authorities recommended a so-called “dual circulation” growth model to lessen reliance on foreign markets and technology as its worries regarding data security escalated.
China raised the stakes in the competition amid tensions with the United States in May by urging large state-owned firms to play a crucial part in its effort to achieve technological self-reliance.
